PANAJI
The spectre of dengue which has been haunting the State's public health ecosystem is unlikely to vanish anytime soon as an alarming spike in numbers of confirmed cases has been reported in the month of August.
Eighty confirmed dengue cases -- 70 in North Goa and 10 in South Goa -- have been recorded by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) in August, a month which this year has been unusually dry.
In the eight months between January and August this year, the State has had a total of 190 dengue cases and as many as 80 were in August alone.
Dr Kalpana Mahatme, who heads the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme at the DHS, however takes solace over the fact that the numbers are still much lower than last year's statistics.
In the same January to August eight-month period last year, the number of confirmed cases reported in Goa were 250.
The August tally of dengue cases was higher too at 100 last year.
Mahatme, meanwhile continues to advocate a joint effort from the community and the DHS to tackle the dengue problem.
The State has been witnessing intermittent showers in the last few days and Dr Mahatme fears that accumulation of water in throughs in courtyards and articles such as discarded containers, tyres, etc, could compound the problem.
"Mosquito breeds in such accumulated water," Dr Mahatme said and urged the community to take the onus of ensuring that their surroundings and also their own homes are kept safe, devoid of such mosquito breeding grounds.
Even flower pots with 'money plants' and 'lotus plants' which many like to keep in their homes are dangerous, Dr Mahatme said.
Dr Mahatme also said in rural areas households have barrels to store water which are again mosquito breeding friendly. The DHS is also continuously organising awareness programmes for which it has tied up with panchayats. Regular fogging is also being carried out, she adds.
Meanwhile, its not just the 80 cases of August that is worrying health officials and private medical practitioners. There have also been some 3,000-odd cases of people experiencing dengue-like symptoms which the DHS does not count in its stats unless a confirmed Elisa test result exists.
